Former Kenilworth Scout leader jailed for indecently assaulting child after victim blackmails him

Christopher Johnson

Published:09:40Friday 25 August 2017

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A 43-year-old man who sexually assaulted a child in the 1990s was jailed after his victim tried to blackmail him years later.

Christopher Johnson, whose victim had tracked him down after seeing his profile on Facebook, was so indignant about the blackmail that he went to the police to report it.

But when the blackmailer was arrested, they admitted what they had done – and revealed that behind their demand was the attack they had suffered at Johnson’s hands.

As a result Johnson was himself arrested.

He pleaded not guilty to indecently assaulting the child in the 1990s – but a jury at Warwick Crown Court convicted him of all three charges.

Johnson, 43, who lived in Coventry at the time and was involved in Scouting in Kenilworth, but now of Clough Road, Halewood, Liverpool, was jailed for four years and ordered to register as a sex offender for life.

Prosecutor Michael Williams said Johnson’s victim did not reveal any details of the attack for many years until they finally confided in their partner.

“Then in 2015, they did a very misguided thing. Instead of contacting the police, they tracked the defendant down through Facebook and sent a message asking for £25,000 for his silence.”

There was no response, so the victim sent a letter to Johnson at his parents’ address – who opened it.

“They contacted the defendant to let him know what they had received, and the defendant then went to the police. Because of that [the victim] was arrested.

“The victim told the police the reason they had asked for money was because they had been the victim of a sexual attack at the hands of the defendant,” added Mr Williams.

But when he was arrested, Johnson claimed he had no idea what it was all about.

Jailing Johnson, Judge Eyre told him: “Your actions have had a real and lasting impact on the victim. They have affected their emotional life and their self-confidence.

“The victim has rightly been punished for attempts to blackmail you, but it was your actions which put in trail the consequences which led to their imprisonment,” the judge added.